・・・Across America, major cities have experienced a significant drop in violent crime, a definition which includes murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. ・・・
The trend also cast doubt on the widely-held view that crime increases during times of economic hardship.
Criminologists point out that crime rates were relatively low during the Great Depression compared with the Roaring Twenties, when there was more violence across America. ・・・
・・・a greater willingness to pool resources with criminologists, the FBI, other police departments and crime fighting bodies has led to more effective policing.・・・
・・・new technology・・・
・・・a number of initiatives aimed at building relationships with the community,・・・whereby every police officer ・・・goes out simultaneously on foot patrol.
The introduction of these measures has led to a greater volume of tip-offs from the public. ・・・http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8190226.stm

・・・Filipino troops engaged in a bloody, hours-long battle with members of the Abu Sayyaf (ASG) militant group・・・, which is classified as an Al Qaeda aligned terrorist group・・・ on Wednesday that claimed 55 lives, 23 of them Filipino soldiers. ・・・
・・・the country・・・ still remembers the scorched-earth tactics of US General John “Black Jack” Pershing in the early 20th century as the US consolidated its control of the country.
The loss Wednesday of so many Filipino troops in such a short period of time also calls into question how effective their training has been.・・・
The Philippines Daily Inquirer quotes enlisted Filipino men from one of the elite units that have been receiving US assistance, and who participated in the battle, as saying the militants brought in about 150 reinforcements during the firefight and that they seemed to have inside information about the Philippines Army’s movements.・・・http://features.csmonitor.com/globalnews/2009/08/13/deadly-filipino-slugfest-between-soldiers-and-islamists/

Elderly people who are physically active appear to be at lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, as are those who eat a heart-healthy Mediterranean style diet, rich in fruits and vegetables and low in red meat. Now, a new study has found that the effects of the two lifestyle behaviors are independent ? and the benefits add up.・・・
The amount of activity needed to make a difference was not very substantial; the most active elderly were only getting about four hours of moderate activity or 1.3 hours of vigorous activity each week・・・http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/18/health/18prev.html?hpw=&pagewanted=print

・・・In an intriguing essay published this week in Voice, Mr Hatoyama・・・argues that the philosophy of yuai or “fraternity＜（友愛）＞” developed by his paternal grandfather, Ichiro＜（鳩山 一郎。1883〜1959年）＞, from・・・the visionary European integrationist・・・, whose mother＜（旧名：青山ミツ。1874〜1941年）＞ was Japanese and who died in 1972,・・・ Count Richard Nikolaus Eijiro＜（栄次郎）＞ von Coudenhove-Kalergi＜（1894〜1972年）＞’・・・s writings, is a compass pointing at rejection of “US-led market fundamentalism”. Fraternity could even guide the way towards the “higher and greater” goals of a single east Asian currency and greater regional political integration, and the European Union that Coudenhove-Kalergi helped bring about offers Japan an example of the benefits of localisation and subsidiarity, says Mr Hatoyama, whose party has made devolution of power to Japan’s regions a main campaign promise. ・・・
While Mr Hatoyama dutifully describes Japan’s half- century alliance with the US as a “cornerstone” of diplomatic policy, his heart appears to be elsewhere. “We must not forget our identity as a nation located in Asia,” he writes. ・・・
“As a result of the failure of the Iraq war and the financial crisis, the era of the US-led globalism is coming to an end and . . . we are moving away from a unipolar world led by the US towards an era of multipolarity,” he writes.・・・
Mr Hatoyama notes that his grandfather Ichiro used yuai as a “banner” in the 1950s to topple the then prime minister Shigeru Yoshida, whose grandson Taro Aso is Japan’s current premier.・・・http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b5db8496-881d-11de-82e4-00144feabdc0.html